Johnson falls to Harrison, 69-61

Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News Johnson High's Greg Mortimer is fouled by Harrison County's Subby Adetujoye as he attempt a basket during Saturday's game in the first round of the State Class-AAAAA Tournament at Johnson High.

Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News Johnson High's Tim Quarterman battles for a rebound with Harrison County's Ryan Blumenthal,3, and Subby Adetujoye,11, during Saturday's game in the first round of the State Class-AAAAA Tournament at Johnson High.

Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News Johnson High's Tim Quarterman shoots a basket over Harrison County's Marshall Guilmette during Saturday's game in the first round of the State Class-AAAAA Tournament at Johnson High.

There was no way Johnson coach Marty Holder could mask the disappointment he felt, either in his voice or his body language.

In the regular season, the Atomsmashers had things pretty much their own way as they went unbeaten in Region 3-AAAAA play.

However, as disappointing as a loss to Savannah High in last week’s region championship game may have been, it was nothing compared with the pain the Smashers felt Saturday afternoon.

Playing at home as a No. 2 seed in the first round of the Class AAAAA state tournament, Johnson crashed and burned as it dropped a 69-61 decision to Harrison (21-7), the No. 3 seed out of Region 4.

It completed a great weekend in Savannah for the Cobb County school. The girls team knocked off Beach, 43-25, on Friday night.

“It’s humbling, very humbling,” Holder said of the way his team ended a season that had held so much promise. “Next year we’re going to have to work harder.”

The Hoyas’ veteran backcourt of Ryan Blumenthal and Jeremy Presley, along with the inside presence of 6-foot-10 Marshall Guilmette — all seniors — were simply too much for the ’Smashers.

Blumenthal scored 21 points, many of them coming when it appeared Johnson may be on the verge of making a rallying run, and Presley added 12 as did Guilmette, who had 10 rebounds.

Tim Quarterman scored 21 points for Johnson, but he made only eight of 25 shots from the floor. Saadiq Muhammad had 16 points and nine rebounds while Abidjan Davis added 15 points.

While his team celebrated around him, Hoya coach Robert Churchwell was the calmest man in the house.

“I felt we could come here and win,” Churchwell said. “We play in a strong and competitive region, and we have some senior leadership. The kids are disciplined and humble.

“Two (Presley) and three (Blumenthal) have been playing together since the sixth grade. They played their hearts out and led us today.”

The first half was nip-and-tuck throughout. The Hoyas led 22-15 at the end of the first period, but the Atomsmashers hung tough and held a 31-30 lead with 18 seconds remaining in the half.

Twice Johnson — with only two team fouls — fouled the Hoyas, forcing them to inbound the ball. The last came with 1.8 seconds on the clock. Harrison, however, managed an uncontested score to garner a 32-31 advantage.

That easy basket, coupled with a technical for substitute Daryl Myers not being listed in the scorebook that resulted in a pair of successful free throws and a lost possession, proved to be haunting errors for the ’Smashers.

The Hoyas finally took outright control of the game midway through the third period.

With his team trailing 38-36, Quarterman was called for stepping on the end line at his end of the floor.

Harrison used that turnover to trigger a 9-0 run to take an 11-point lead.

Johnson trimmed it to five, 51-46, but Blumenthal made a foul shot to end the third quarter, and a 6-0 start to the fourth effectively shut the gate. The Hoyas enjoyed their biggest lead of the night at 63-49 with 5:04 to play when Guilmette hit a turnaround jumper.

“We don’t see 6-10 down here,” Holder said. “He’s a 6-10 kid who plays like 6-10. We were the big team during the season. Once they went on that run in the third quarter it took some air out of us.

“We fought to get it back to five, but we haven’t been in that situation before. We had to expend a lot of energy to do that. But, I have to give the kids credit. They fought hard to the end, and I’m proud of the season we had.”